Agency Report –
Informed sources say that sums of over €500,000 (around $543,000) are being offered to long-standing employees to voluntarily leave the company.
The employees are protected from compulsory lay-offs by an employment guarantee until the end of 2034. That means the company has to offer attractive financial incentives to implement the job cuts, which are part of a comprehensive austerity programme.
A spokeswoman for the company said in Stuttgart on Friday that the company does not comment publicly on the terms of the severance programme.
“Mercedes-Benz stands by its responsibility to its employees: we act in a socially responsible and fair manner,” the spokeswoman said.
On the carmaker’s intranet, employees can get an initial overview of what they will receive when they leave the company. So far, the firm has not provided any information on the number of employees it hopes will accept the offer.
But employee representatives say the number is in the thousands and includes administrative staff.
The Handelsblatt newspaper reported that a 55-year-old team leader with a gross monthly salary of around €9,000 and 30 years of service with the company can expect a severance payment of more than €500,000. A 45-year-old administrator who has been with Mercedes for 20 years and earns around €7,500 gross per month can expect more than €300,000.
Mercedes-Benz wants to save around €5 billion by 2027, according to earlier statements.
